Probate has two separate costs: the court application fee, which is £300 if the estate is worth over £5,000 (nothing if it is £5,000 or less), and professional fees if you use an accountant, solicitor or probate specialist to help administer the estate. Professional fees vary far more than the court fee, depending on whether the firm charges hourly, a fixed fee, or a percentage of the estate, and on how complex the estate actually is.
What is the court fee for probate?
The probate application fee is fixed by HM Courts and Tribunals Service, not by whichever firm helps you apply. As confirmed on gov.uk's probate fees page, the fee is £300 for estates worth more than £5,000, and there is no fee at all for estates of £5,000 or less. Extra copies of the probate document cost £16 each, useful if you need to send it to several organisations at once. If probate has already been granted and you need to make a second application, for example as an executor coming off "power reserved", the fee is £21.
This court fee is the same whether you apply yourself or through a professional, and it is separate from, and usually much smaller than, any professional fee for handling the estate.
How do professional fees for probate work?
Firms that help administer an estate generally charge in one of three ways, and it is worth understanding the difference before you compare quotes.
What actually drives the cost of an estate?
The size of the estate is not, on its own, what makes probate expensive. Complexity is. A modest estate with several properties, overseas assets, a business interest, or disputes between beneficiaries can take far longer to administer than a larger but simpler one.
Three things tend to drive cost more than anything else: whether Inheritance Tax forms are required and how complex the estate's valuation is, how many assets and property interests need to be identified, valued and dealt with, and how straightforward the family situation is, since disagreements between beneficiaries or missing paperwork both add time. An estate with a single property, a couple of savings accounts and a clear will is usually quick to administer. An estate with a rental portfolio, shares in a private company, or assets that need tracing takes longer, whatever the total value turns out to be.
What does Vision Consulting charge?
Vision Consulting charges for probate work on a transparent hourly basis, published on our live probate page, with rates from £150 to £450 plus VAT per hour depending on the seniority of the person carrying out the work. We do not charge a percentage of the estate. This means the total cost reflects the actual work the estate requires, and you can ask at any point how much time has been spent and what remains.
We are licensed by the ICAEW for non-contentious probate (probate reference C004563153, viewable at icaew.com/probate), which means we can handle the legal process of applying for the grant of probate and administering straightforward estates. We do not handle contested or disputed estates, and we work alongside your solicitor where a dispute or a legal issue outside probate arises.
Worked example
Example. Sarah is dealing with her late father's estate. It includes his home, a savings account, a small share portfolio, and no business interests or overseas assets. There is a valid will, and the three beneficiaries, Sarah and her two siblings, are in agreement about everything.
Because the estate is relatively straightforward, Sarah gets a fixed-fee quote from one firm and an hourly-rate estimate from another. The fixed fee is higher than the hourly estimate for a case this simple, because it is priced to cover the firm's risk on more complex estates too. Sarah chooses the hourly-rate firm, asks for regular updates on time spent, and pays the £300 court fee separately as part of the process.
Had the estate instead included a rental property in France, a dispute between the siblings over specific bequests, and a business interest requiring a formal valuation, the same hourly-rate approach would likely have taken substantially longer, and cost more, regardless of which fee model had been chosen. The complexity, not the headline fee structure, would have been driving the cost.
How long does probate typically take?
Gov.uk's guidance states that probate is usually granted within 12 weeks of submitting the application, though this can take longer for paper applications or where HMCTS needs further information. This figure is reviewed periodically by HMCTS, so it is worth checking the current position at the point you apply rather than relying on a fixed number indefinitely. Time from death to a fully wound-up estate is normally longer than the 12-week grant figure, since valuing assets, settling any Inheritance Tax, and distributing the estate all happen around that point, not instantly once the grant arrives.
What this means in practice
Working out roughly how complex your estate is, how many properties and account types are involved, whether Inheritance Tax forms are likely to be needed, is something you can do yourself before you approach any firm, and it will help you compare quotes meaningfully.
Ask any firm you are considering to explain its fee model clearly, including what is and is not included, and to give you a sense of likely total cost based on the estate you describe, not just a headline hourly rate or percentage. If beneficiaries disagree, or if you suspect a dispute may arise, tell any firm this upfront, since it changes both the scope of straightforward probate work and whether the estate needs input from a solicitor.
Our probate page sets out our fee structure and how we work in more detail, and our guide to an executor's first 30 days covers what happens before probate is even applied for, which is often where the early time and cost is spent.
A note on scope
Vision Consulting is licensed by the ICAEW for non-contentious probate in England and Wales. We handle the tax and administrative side of straightforward estates. We do not handle contested probate or disputes between beneficiaries, and we work alongside your solicitor or will-writer where a dispute or contested matter arises. We also prepare wills, including mirror wills, with inheritance tax and your wider estate position in mind, so the will works as part of your tax planning.
Talk to us about your estate
If you are dealing with a recent bereavement and require assistance, speak to one of our senior managers and we will assist as best we can. The first conversation is about understanding what the estate involves, not asking you to commit to anything. Call 020 8554 2135 or email info@visionconsulting.co.uk, or get in touch via our contact page.
By the Vision Consulting team.
This is general information, not advice. Your position depends on your circumstances.